Sports Break

Goodness knows that the politics aren't going away, so let's talk sports for a minute:

• So Randy Moss is coming back to Minnesota. It's hard to say if this will help the Vikings or not. Much has changed in Minnesota since he left -- it's a different coaching staff and nearly the entire roster has turned over in the last 5 years. If I remember correctly, the only regular on offense who was here when Moss last played in Minnesota is Jim Kleinsasser. He'll have to get acclimated to the new regime in much the same way he would have if he'd been traded anywhere else. Moss is still a tremendous talent but he remains a problematic teammate. If the Vikings locker room is already fractious, and there is reason to believe it is, he could easily make things worse. But in the end, you can't blame the Vikings for making the move -- this is probably the last chance the current group has and they are already in a hole.
• Meanwhile, it was an all-too-familiar scene across town as the Twins once again took an early lead against the Yankees, coughed it up in the middle innings and flailed away without effect against Mariano Rivera at the end. I think a lot of people are going to question Jesse Crain's effort, but it comes down to this: to beat the Yankees, you have to play flawlessly. The Twins have done some remarkable things this year but there's still a decided talent gap. If you compare the two teams, the only positions where the Twins have an advantage are at catcher and perhaps left field, but that's close -- I prefer Brett Gardner to Delmon Young in the field -- he probably saved the Yankees a run in the first inning with his speed, holding Denard Span to a single. It's going to be tough to beat the Yankees.